Strike Out
by Dragonduelist100
Summary: Someone makes a contract with an Imagin. It's up to New Den-O to stop the monster before it can fly to the past and disrupt the flow of time.


OKAY. So I did NOT expect this. Apparently, I'm not the only person on this site that is a fan of Kamen Rider. Apparently, there are a LOT of fans. That's…really surprising to me. I always thought I would've been one of a few individuals that also liked Kamen Rider.

SO, in light of this, I've decided to upload a story I did on Kamen Rider Den-O. It was really just meant for me to practice writing fight scenes and help me practice character portrayal. Keep in mind, since this was practice, it probably won't be very good, so just bear with me. I promise that I at least put a good amount of work into it.

For that disclaimer thing:

The following is a fan based parody. Kamen Rider Den-O is owned by Bandai and any other companies I have failed to mention. Please support the official release.

Happy?

Whether or not I continue this story depends entirely on if it is popular enough. If not, then I'll just leave it as is. So if you want to see more, please remember to review this story, tell me what you thought of it, and most importantly, share this with anyone you know enjoyed the original series.

**Strike Out**

**Part 1: The Deadly Contract**

_Was it all just a dream? Was any of it…real? _A young man by the name of James was sitting up in bed. It was about 12:00 at night. He had been roused from his sleep by a nightmare.

At least, that's what he hoped it was. His mind flashed back to the events he had witnessed then.

* * *

He had been sitting at his desk, stuffing his face with potato chips. It was a Saturday night, which meant sleeping in late, and getting up the next day even later. His eyes were glued to his TV screen, watching one of those cheesy sit-coms. He was living in an apartment, so no one else but him was around at the time.

_Tch, really? _he thought to himself as laughter rang out from the TV. He shifted in his seat slightly. _My cousins can come up with better jokes than that. _He reached into his bowl of chips, only to find that it was empty. Sighing, he got up from his seat and headed for the kitchen.

Stepping out of the room, he flicked the light switch on, illuminating the area in florescent lights. As he made his way to the cabinets, he hummed a tune to himself, singing the lyrics in his head. Opening up the cabinet, he fetched out the bag of chips and walked over to the nearby counter, placing his bowl there. He unraveled the rolled up end of the bag, and poured in chips into the bowl until it was full once again. With that done, he rolled the bag back up, stuffed it in the cabinet, grabbed the bowl of chips and headed back to his room.

When he got to the foot of the door, he froze. Floating in the middle of the room was what seemed to be a ball of light. It was about the size of his head.

"W…what…" James managed to let out, taking a step back. As soon as he did so, the ball of light slowly began to advance towards him. He took several more steps back, and the light followed. He continued to back up as the light closed in on him. Suddenly, he stumbled; dropping the bowl and sending chips everywhere, and the ball of light was upon him.

As quick as could be, it shot towards him. But rather than make a physical impact, it entered his body, sending a strange tingle throughout his body. "W-what the?!" He scrambled to his feet and started for the door. He froze.

Standing in front of him, or rather hovering in front of him was what was practically the embodiment of his nightmares. It was a monster made entirely of sand. Rather than standing on its feet, it was on its belly. Well, technically speaking anyways, as it seemed as though it was cut in half, its lower body just hovering above its head, as though it was standing in a portal just above it.

The monster looked as though it was a cross between a man and a snake, though its head reminded James of the hydra from Greek legends. The thing stared at him, arms folded as sand seemed to flow in an endless loop from its body, to the floor, and back again to its body to repeat the cycle. Its teeth were sharp and elongated, making it appear as though it was always grinning widely. Its eyes were large, bulging from its skull. Long spines jutted from the back of head, its fingers bared long, slender claws, and, though it was hard to tell, its body appeared to be covered in armor, decorative markings spread along the design.

"Tell me your wish," it said in a deep, raspy voice. "I will grant any wish. However," he pointed at James, "you must give me something in return."

"My…my wish?" James replied.

"Yesssss," it hissed, "tell me what it is you desire." James sat there, contemplating what to do. Should he stay and tell this creature what he wanted? Should he run for the door and call for help? Was there any harm in telling him his wish? Was he even capable of granting it if he did? What would he wish for? What did the creature even want? More and more questions filled his head, and he couldn't answer any of them.

"Hurry up already," the creature spoke up, snapping James out of his thoughts, "I don't like to be kept waiting."

"I…" he stammered, "well-uh…I-I guess I'd…uh…I think-"

"Enough," he cut him off, raising his clawed hand, "I've decided for you." James could only sit there, dumbfounded. "You wish that the people who put you here were 'beaten up,' correct?" James stared in shock. How did this thing know about him being forced to live here? The creature began to chuckle. "Contract formed." Suddenly, the creature's body moved. The two halves of his body began to move closer to each other, phasing through each other until the creature looked properly assembled, torso above and legs below. Then, the sand stopped flowing, and burst off of the creature, giving it color.

His armor was of black and green, sometimes mixing in between the two. His teeth and claws were a sickly yellowish white. His bulbish eyes were translucent blue, slitted pupils within the orbs. His skin was the same color as his armor, almost blending in and almost appearing as part of him. He chuckled, and began to walk towards James. He scrambled back to his feet, backing away from him as he slowly stalked towards him.

"H-hey," he stammered, "s-stay back!" The creature chuckled again.

"I have no reason to hurt you," he said, "so long as you don't interfere." James tripped, falling on his bed. The creature paid no heed to him, and walked past him, heading for the window.

"W-wait," James spoke up, "where are you going?" He turned to face him, fixing his gaze upon him.

"I'm granting your wish," he replied, turning back to the window and opening it. He began to step through before turning back to James. "Sleep tight." At that, it leapt through, leaving him be.

James fainted, falling back to the bed.

* * *

It had felt so real at the time, and yet James found himself having difficulty believing it to be true. How could he? Monsters of sand? Granting wishes? It had to be a dream. There was just no way it could be anything but. James shook his head. Turning off the TV and snapping the lights off, he lay back in his bed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day found James sitting in the library, typing away at one of the computers. Being that he didn't have his own laptop, it was one of the only ways he could access the web for free.

He sighed, clicking from one tab to the other. _Still no find, _he thought to himself, _just my luck. _He was looking for different job opportunities. Today; no results. He leaned back in his chair, stretching a bit. Deciding that there was no point in lingering, he logged out of the computer, and went over to pick out a magazine. He flipped it open to a random page and sat down, taking a seat next to two older men.

"So did you hear?" James heard one of them whisper.

"Yeah," the other one replied, "but I can't believe it."

"I know," the first one said, "I can't believe it either. It's gotta be a rumor. No way could be possible that a _monster_ attacked this guy." James' heart skipped a beat. Trying to remain calm, he continued to listen in.

"This guy had to be high on something," the second man replied, bringing a chuckle from the pair, "what company did you say this guy worked at?"

"Big Sportswear," the first one replied, "at the one couple of blocks away from here."

"Weird," the second one replied, "and so close to us as well." When they finished up their conversation, they both got up and left, leaving James stunned in his seat. He couldn't believe his ears. Had they really spoken of a monster? Could it have been the strange creature in his dreams? Had that been a dream?

_Big Sportswear, _he thought to himself, _I was fired from there a couple of months ago… This…this can't be happening. _Hurriedly, he placed the magazine back on the shelf he had grabbed it from, and make his way out of the building. Pushing the door open, he speed-walked out onto the concrete. Other than a few joggers, he was left alone to his thoughts. _This is crazy. There's just no way… It has to be a coincidence. _He began to walk faster, almost jogging. _Just a coincidence, just a coincidence, just a coincidence, just a- _

"Contract holder!" a deep, raspy voice called out from behind him, making him stop in his tracks.

_No, _he thought dreadfully, _no, no it can't be. _Slowly, he turned around. Bulging blue eyes, black green skin, long menacing claws. It was the monster. It was real.

"Your wish has been granted," he said, tossing a newspaper at his feet. On the front was an article with a man at the front. It had a picture of him, and underneath, it read; "Morise Altos, found brutally injured, slash marks all over his body."

Morise Altos, that was the name of his former boss. James could only stare down at the paper in horror. He heard the monster chuckle, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Contract completed," the creature said, "I've beaten up the person responsible for putting you in the apartment." He raised his hand, flexing his claws. It began to stalk towards him. James wanted to move, but he couldn't; his legs wouldn't budge. He got closer and closer, and James could only stare in fear. It was only several feet away, and closing in on him.

_Is this it? _he thought to himself. _Is this how it ends? Murdered by some monster? _He was only a few more feet away from him now. At that moment, he saw his life flash before his eyes. His childhood, his high school years, getting kicked out of his job, all leading up to this. It wouldn't be long before the creature was upon him, and then it would be over, and he was powerless to stop it. He closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

But then, all of a sudden, a strange electronic horn rung out, startling the two. He opened his eyes, seeing that the monster had stopped. He was looking around, trying to find the source of the noise. Every fiber told James to bolt and run, but all he managed to do was stumble and fall backwards. The monster saw this, and started towards him. He stopped. Turning to his left, he gasped, and jumped back. Curious, James turned to the direction where he had looked, and what he saw put him in a state of shock and amazement.

Zipping in between James and the monster was what seemed to be a bullet train, just cruising though seemingly out of nowhere. It looked similar to the metro trains he was used to seeing. It's color scheme consisted mainly of white, with a single stripe of red running along its side and outlined in black. When the last car passed them, two figures stood in between them. One appeared to be a young man, about his age. The other, James couldn't tell what it was.

It looked like a monster as well. However, unlike the one that James had met, this one seemed less menacing. It had a more armored appearance, colored entirely in an indigo sort of blue, lined with silver here and there. It looked sort of like a robotic demon, with short, stubby horns jutting out from its forehead. Its eyes bore no pupils, only jet black orbs within its skull. It stood there with its arms positioned in front of him, standing at attention, where as the young man had a much more casual look on him, hands jammed in the pockets of his jacket.

"So," the young man said, turning to the fanged monster, "you're the Imagin, right?" The monster tilted his head.

"Huh? Who are you?" he hissed out. The stranger rolled his eyes, and replied.

"I thought it would've been obvious. Giant train out of nowhere? An Imagin standing at my side?" The monster showed no signs of realization. The young man sighed. "Whatever, it'll be clear soon." Then, from his pocket, he pulled out some sort of device. It was hard to tell what it was from a distance, but it seemed to be a small, black device of some kind.

Suddenly, there was a bright light, and a strange, golden colored belt materialized around his waist. He clipped it closed, and pressed a button on the front of it. When he did so, a tune rung out from the belt, a looping sound of violins rolling from high to low. He smirked, raising the device up with his right arm across his chest. "Henshin!"

_STRIKE FORM_

A stronger light burst out, and the man was suddenly wearing armor, helmet encasing his entire head. The color scheme was similar to the monster standing next to him, or rather, the Imagin, as he had said. Then suddenly, what seemed to be pieces of railroad tracks and other various parts materialized and attached themselves to his armor.

Finally, to finish the transformation, one larger piece rolled from the back of his helmet to the front, overlapping one visor with another. When it finished moving, it opened up, forming a V shape over his face. A surge of energy burst through from him, making the fanged creature step back, shielding himself with his arm.

"Wait," he said, lowering his arm, "you're…Denno, right?" The stranger sighed again.

"Den-O, two syllables," he corrected, pointing a finger at the him, "and yes, that's me."

"Heh, you look less impressive in person," he responded, "you don't seem so tough."

"Trust me," he replied, putting his left hand to his hip, "my strength is the real thing." He turned his head to James. "I think you should run now." Scrambling to his feet, James ran off in the other direction.

"Hey!" the fanged Imagin shouted out, running after James, only to be cut off by the stranger, now identified as Den-O.

"Sorry," he said, "but I can't let you do that." The monster growled.

"DON'T GET IN THE WAY!" He roared out.

"Hmph," Den-O turned his head to his partner, "Teddy?" He snapped with his right hand.

"Right," the creature now identified as Teddy replied, nodding. He jumped, and a bright light flashed out, fading away to reveal that he had become a broad sword, which Den-O grabbed out of the air and slung over his shoulder. The opposing Imagin roared out again, charging at him. Den-O easily sidestepped him, twirling around and slashing at him with the built up momentum, sending the creature tumbling. He slung his sword onto his shoulder again, watching the creature get to his feet.

"Koutarou," the sword spoke up, "your count?" Koutarou tilted his head slightly, evaluating the creature.

"10 should be enough," he said, shrugging, "this Imagin doesn't seem too difficult."

"WHAT?!" the Imagin roared out in anger, slamming his fist on the floor in rage. "WHY YOU!" He charged at him again. Koutarou smirked under his helmet.

"Ten."

Once the Imagin was close enough, Koutarou unslung his sword and slashed at him, damaging his armor and sending him back several feet.

"Nine."

Koutarou charged at him, slashing his sword upwards diagonally to his right, impacting the Imagin again and damaging him further, making him cry out.

"Eight."

Not letting up, Koutarou made a downward slash to his left, slicing the Imagin's left shoulder.

"Seven."

Grabbing his sword with both hands, Koutarou made another diagonal upward slash, the resulting force causing the Imagin's chest armor to crack.

"Six."

Keeping the momentum, Koutarou spun around and made a diagonal downward slash to his right, further damaging the Imagin's already beaten up armor.

"Five."

Turning his sword the other way, Koutarou swung horizontally to his left, breaking off the Imagin's left shoulder guard, almost breaking his arm in the process. He stumbled back, trying to regain space.

"Four."

Koutarou charged after him, lifting the sword over his head with both hands, and slashed downward, cutting straight down the middle and making his sword dig into the ground. The Imagin staggered back, gravely wounded.

"Three."

"Aahhrgh," the Imagin groaned, "you can't…beat me!"

"Try me," Koutarou replied, pulling out the small device from before from the back of his belt. He waved it over his belt, and it responded.

_FULL CHARGE_

Koutarou's sword began to spark, surging with purple energy.

"Two."

The Imagin made a break for it, running off in the other direction. Koutarou slung his sword on his shoulder, watching him run. It was fast.

But not fast enough.

"One."

"Haaaaaaah!" Koutarou yelled out, both hands on his sword, holding it out to his right. The Imagin looked back, seeing his pursuer. He tried to run faster. Too little, too late.

Catching up to the Imagin, Koutarou leapt into the air and sliced him in the neck, the charged up energy released as he slashed, The Imagin froze, and fell to the ground at the same time Koutarou landed on his feet, skidding to a stop, sword held out in front of him.

"Zero."

The Imagin exploded, vaporizing into nothingness. Koutarou slung his blade onto his shoulder again, turning around to see the charred remains of his opponent.

"Hmph," he said, nodding in satisfaction. "Not too bad. Next time, let's go for 8." He walked over to the smoking pile of ashes that had been the Imagin, and poked at it with his foot. "He certainly isn't getting up."

"Don't be so quick to judge," a deep, raspy voice spoke behind him. Before he had time to react, a set of claws slashed at Koutarou's back, making him cry out and sending him several feet, falling to the floor. Groaning, he got up to a kneel, and saw the Imagin standing there still alive.

"What?" Koutarou said, clutching his sword tighter, "but how?"

"I already told you," the Imagin replied, stalking towards him, "you can't beat me." Getting back up, Koutarou charged at him, only to be struck back down by another set of claws from behind. He looked back, and saw another Imagin, almost identical to the one that had attacked him first.

"It seems the Imagin has split," Teddy said informatively.

"I can see that," Koutarou replied, staggering to his feet. He got into a defensive stance, backing up slowly away from the Imagin to keep his distance. He looked from one Imagin to the other, judging which one posed more of a threat.

"What's the matter?" one hissed.

"Don't know which one of us to fight?" said the other.

"No," Koutarou replied, eying his targets, "just figuring out how many seconds less it'll take this time."

The two Imagin looked to each other, reassessing the situation. It was clear that this "Den-O" person wasn't going to be an easy opponent, even if they worked in a pair. They both nodded to each other, and fled away from Koutarou and his talking sword.

"Tch," Koutarou said as he watched them run, deciding not to pursue. Once they were both out of his sight, he threw his sword up, and it turned back into Teddy's normal Imagin form. Then, he unclipped his belt, and his armor de-materialized, leaving him in just his normal clothes. "Kay," he called out, "it's safe. You can come out now." James peeked his head out from his hiding spot, having watched the fight from a distance. Hesitantly, he stepped out into view, looking around cautiously as he approached Koutarou. He stopped a few feet away from them, eying Teddy.

"Who…are you guys?" James asked, turning his attention to Koutarou. He smirked.

"You don't need to worry about that for now," he replied, "just know that we're here to help." Teddy nodded as to confirm his statement. "More importantly," Koutarou continued, "was that your Imagin?"

"I-Imagin?" James questioned, relatively confused on what he meant.

"That's what that monster's called," Koutarou said, "an Imagin."

"Just…what _is _an Imagin," James asked. Koutarou sighed.

"They're these…monsters from the future or something," Koutarou answered. "Something happened in the past that changed the future, so long story short; they're trying to change history to make _their _future a reality again." James simply stared in confusion, trying to take in the info he had been given. "Just…don't worry about it," Koutarou said, "right now I have a question for _you._"

James blinked in surprise, "m-me?" Koutarou nodded.

"Yes you," he continued, "I need to know, what was the wish you made on that Imagin?"

"M…m-my wish?"

"Yeah," Koutarou said, nodding, "you made a wish, didn't you?"

"W-well," James looked down at his feet, "s-sort of…I-I mean, it said that…it chose for me…so-"

"Great," Koutarou cut in, "so what was it?" James remained silent for a moment.

"It…it said…" He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"Koutarou," Teddy spoke up, making James Jump a bit from the suddenness, "it would probably be best if we move this conversation to later. Those Imagin may come back at any moment."

"Good point Teddy," Koutarou replied, turning back to James, "come on, we'll continue this later. Right now we need to get out of here." James only nodded in response, following Koutarou as he led the way.

A short time later, the two of them were waiting at a door. Though, to James' confusion, they didn't enter. They only stood there awkwardly, with Koutarou looking at his watch.

"Um…" James began, "aren't we…gonna enter?"

"Give it a minute," Koutarou replied, not taking his eyes off of his watch. James glanced at Teddy, who was standing there silently, hands clasped together at his front. He quickly turned away when he saw Teddy turn to him, having noticed him looking.

"Few more seconds," Koutarou announced. James looked around, wondering what it was they were waiting for, but found nothing. Confused, he looked to Koutarou again.

Koutarou smiled, it was clear that he knew something that he didn't. Koutarou looked back at his watch, counting down the seconds silently. Curious, James looked at his own watch, the time reading 12:11 54. Koutarou placed his hand on the door handle.

"Almost…" Again, James looked at his watch.

12:12 08.

12:12 09.

12:12 10.

12:12 11.

12:12 12.

"Now!" At that, he opened the door. James peered through, expecting to see a simple room. What he did see left him speechless. Rather than seeing a sparsely decorated waiting room, he instead saw a large canyon, stretching endlessly with sand. Teddy and Koutarou quickly entered, but James continued to stand there, dumbfounded.

Teddy noticed this, and held the door open for him. "Is there something wrong?" he asked. James shook his head, snapping himself out of his trance, and hastily made his way through, avoiding eye contact with the blue Imagin as much as he could.

Once everyone was through, Teddy closed the door. There they were, standing in the middle of a canyon. He looked behind the door, and only saw more canyons. He looked to Koutarou, who was looking around as if he were expecting something. Then, out in the distance, an electronic horn rung out, the same kind as the one he had heard the first time.

"You may wanna step back a bit," Koutarou advised James. Still confused but deciding not to question, he obediently stepped back. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a set of train tracks formed on the sandy ground in front of them. Before James could even think of a question, the bullet train that he had seen from before zoomed across the tracks, slowing to a stop with a screech. A door on the side of one of the cars slid open to reveal a small girl, probably at the age of twelve, standing at the entrance.

"Koutarou," she said, stepping down from the train and walking up to him, "what happened?"

"The dang thing split," he replied, "one of em caught me off guard from behind and they got away."

"Mou," she let out angrily, "if only Ryoutarou were here to help."

"Grandpa?" Koutarou asked. "Doesn't he have a cold?"

"Unfortunately yes," the girl answered, "that's why we called you in the first place. We'd ask Yuuto, but he's been low on cards recently…"

"Pity," Koutarou said, "but it's alright. Me n' Teddy can handle them. The first one went down pretty easily, so the second one can't be that difficult."

"I hope so," the girl said, "recently, the Imagin that have been popping up have been stranger than others. We have no way of telling if this one could be different…" She sighed, and turned to James. "So is this the contract holder?"

"Yup," Koutarou said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "in the flesh."

"Good," the girl said, holding out her hand to him. "My name's Hana. What's yours?"

"J…James," he replied, hesitantly shaking her hand. She smiled.

"Nice to meet you James," Hana said. "Don't worry, you're safe here." She looked at the train, and back to him again. "Come on, we should get on." Still holding on to James' hand, Hana led him onto the train, with Koutarou and Teddy following closely behind.

Once they all boarded, the door slid closed behind them with a hiss. James looked around. They were all huddled in a small room, with a door leading to the entrance of the car. Hana pressed a button on the wall, and the door slid open, allowing passage.

"After you," she said, motioning to the door with her hand.

"R-right," said James. With a bit of hesitation, he walked through. What he saw made him stop in his tracks. The room itself was simplistic. The walls were a simple white color, similar to the exterior of the train. The windows were a bit odd, taking a hexagonal shape. A waitress was standing a counter at the left of the room. However, what kept James form advancing was the fact that the place was occupied by multiple strange creatures; four to be exact.

The first one he noticed was quite calm. It was sitting in its seat quietly, arms folded. Its color scheme consisted mainly of gold, with outlines of black and silver. He (as James had guessed) had a rather muscular build. He seemed to be wearing a sort of vest with white fur lining the collar. Looking closely, there seemed to be small claws attached to his fists. What was strange about him was what seemed to be a slitted visor encasing the top half of his head, with a single horn protruding from his forehead.

The second one was colored entirely of a light blue, minus the red eyes and silver linings along the body. Its armor design reminded James of turtle shells, being that the design consisted of mainly hexagons. Its head even appeared very turtle-like. It was standing at the counter, turned slightly away from them. James also assumed this one was male, for it appeared as though he was flirting with the waitress, making many smooth hand motions as they talked.

The third one was a bit stranger than the others. It was suited in a sort of strange armored robe. It was rather slim in its design, the shoulder pads being the only thing that had any bulk to it. It allowed for a lot of movement, which the monster was already taking advantage of by dancing around the area. Like the turtle monster, this one was colored entirely of one color; purple, minus some black outlines, its white gloves, its bright orange eyes, and the headphones it wore. As it spun around, James noticed it had a ponytail in the back of its head, colored in a lighter shade of purple. From the way it was dancing around and giggling, James was under the impression that it was a sort of child like adult. Its giggles, while high pitched, sounded relatively male, so James assumed it to be so. He reminded James of a dragon from the way his outfit was designed, with claws at the feet of his boots, and his ponytail resembling a dragon tail. His face also appeared to be dragon-like, with a stubby muzzle, sharp teeth, and solid whiskers protruding from his nose.

The last monster was what put James at most un-ease. Like most of the other ones, this one had one primary color. This one was mainly a bright red, with small, black flames along the design of its armor. Like the dragon, its armor was relatively minimal, only covering its torso, forearms and legs. What scared James the most was its face. Much like the monster that attacked him, the monster's teeth were always bared as though in a permanent smile. While they weren't elongated like the other monster, it still gave a very menacing appearance. From its head, two lengthy horns protruded. Its eyes were nothing but black orbs within its skull. It looked unsettlingly similar to a devil. In a way, it reminded James of Teddy, but less mechanized and armored. It was seated at one of the tables, both feet propped up on the table. James highly doubted that it was a female.

He felt a small hand grasp his. He turned to see Hana with a reassuring look. "Don't worry," she said, "they're with us." Nodding nervously, James entered the room. The red one raised his head, noticing the group.

"Oy, Tendon," he said in a deep voice, gesturing with his hand. Teddy's hand went to his forehead, groaning. James looked from one to the other. Apparently, the red one had referred to Teddy. The other three monsters turned their attention to the group.

"Oh, Hana-chan," the blue one said, approaching the group, "welcome back." Koutarou and Teddy walked over to the nearest table, seating themselves.

"Hello Urataros," Hana replied in a less than pleasant tone, sighing.

"So is this the contract holder?" The gold one asked, gesturing to James.

"Yup," Hana answered, "his name's-"

"Oh! Oh! Hana-chan!" the purple one exclaimed, grabbing a sketchbook off a nearby table and running over to them, "look what I drew!" He thrust the book out to Hana proudly. On one of the pages was a picture of himself drawn in crayon, looking as though it had been drawn by a first-grader. Hana smiled, giving him a thumbs up. He giggled happily, and skipped back to his seat, looking at his drawing proudly.

"Anyways," Hana continued, "his name is James, and he'll be staying with us for a bit."

"EH?!" the red one exclaimed, sitting up in his seat. "Here?! You're kidding me! Can't you see it's already crowded as it is?!" Hana rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I see that Momo," she replied, "but it's not like we have a choice, I mean, where else could he stay?"

"Hmm," the red one now identified as Momo began, putting a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Oh! I know, how about _outside_?"

"Mo-MO!" Hana replied angrily, making Momo flinch.

"Eeeeeh, h-hear me out," he continued, "I mean come on, it's a good idea."

"So what happens when the Den-liner gets moving?" Hana questioned, glaring at Momo. James could only assume that "Den-liner" was the name of the train.

"Uhh, oh! He could hang on to the side, like this." He held his hands up, imitating a person hanging onto something.

"Idiot," Hana said, rolling her eyes,

"Oy, Kuma-chan," Momo said to Urataros, "back me up here."

"I'm sorry sempai," he replied, putting his hands up, "but I can't say I agree with your plan."

"You too?!" Momo exclaimed, tossing his arms up in the air.

"Ha-ha-ah, Momotaros is stupid stupid stupid," the purple one laughed, pointing at him. Momo glared at him.

"Shut up you brat!" Momotaros shouted angrily. He turned to the gold one. "Oy, Kin-chan, what about you?"

"Can't say I agree either, Momonoji," he began, turning his head to Momotaros, "besides, wouldn't it be better if he just stayed in another car?"

"I'm afraid that isn't an option either," an elderly voice spoke up, startling everyone in the car, especially Hana and James. They turned around, seeing an elder man, probably somewhere in his thirties or forties. He was wearing an official-looking suit, giving him an authoritative appearance. He held a long cane in his hand. He was looking at James, making him feel uneasy. "All of the passenger cars are filled, so he will have to stay here." Momotaros sighed.

"Don't sneak up on us like that, Owner-san," he grumbled, slumping back in his seat. The elder man ignored his comment, and proceeded to sit at the farthest end of the room.

"Naomi-kun," Owner said to the waitress, "coffee for everyone, and the usual for me."

"Yes sir," she replied cheerily, kneeling down behind the counter and taking out several mugs, filling each with coffee and placing them on a tray. Picking up the tray, she proceeded to walk around the room, handing each passenger a cup.

"Thank you Naomi," Hana said, taking a seat with James.

"And for you," Naomi said, handing James a cup.

"Oh, th-thank you," he replied, gently taking the cup and taking a sip. Naomi nodded in satisfaction, and turned back to Owner.

"And I'll have your usual ready for you shortly," she said, earning a nod from Owner. At that, Naomi exited to the next car, leaving the group to their business.

"So James," Hana began, turning her attention back to him, "that Imagin asked you for your wish, right?" James placed his cup on the table, turning away from her.

"Well," he began, "the thing is…it said that it chose for me."

"Chose for you?!" Hana replied. James simply nodded.

"Most troubling," Owner said, making everyone turn to him. "The Imagin have been able to do that more and more recently." The door slid open, and Naomi walked through with a silver platter in her hand. She placed it on the table in front of Owner, and removed the cover, revealing a small plate of fried rice with a small paper flag sticking out form the middle of the rice, along with a set of utensils and a white cloth napkin. Upon seeing this, Owner's eyes lit up, smiling in delight.

"Thank you Naomi-kun," he thanked her happily. Naomi bowed, smiling, and skipped back over to her counter, Owner began to hum, taking the napkin and placing it between his collar. Then, he placed the spoon on the table with the head facing to the left of him, He slammed his fist on it, flipping it over his hand and caught it. Afterwards, he took a scoop from the side of the plate and ate. "Mmmm," he let out in satisfaction, swallowing. "Once an Imagin is given a wish, a contract is formed, and it gains a physical body." James' mind flashed back to when he met his monster, or rather, Imagin for the first time. Owner took another scoop from the side of the plate, eating it and continuing.

"When that wish is granted, the Imagin can form a link to its contract holder's past through his or her memories, and fly to the past."

"F-fly to the past?!" James exclaimed, "y-you mean like time travel?!"

"Yesss," Owner replied slowly, carefully taking another scoop, avoiding the small flag. He swallowed and continued once more. "Once it makes it to the past, it wreaks havoc, destroying buildings, attacking people." He took another careful scoop from the plate, forming a small hill around the paper flag. "Mrph, and as a result of this, the future becomes jeopardized, threatening its existence." He took another scoop, making the small hill of rice around the flag even smaller. "Families vanish from existence, buildings disappear, and entire timelines are erased, all from the actions of one Imagin."

James stared down at his cup, trying to process the information. Owner took another small scoop, and the hill was reduced to a small ball of rice, just barely holding the flag up.

"And now that they are choosing wishes on their own, the present and the future are in even greater danger." He took another tiny scoop, and the small flag finally fell. Owner's eyes went wide. He put his hands to his cheeks, forming a small 'O' with his lips. He straightened again, removing the napkin from his collar. He turned to James and Hana once more, and spoke again. "That is why it is important that we stop them before they can grant their wish, otherwise the flow of time is threatened to be disrupted." At that, the elderly man made his way out of the car, leaving the group in silence.

James' heart skipped a beat. His mind flashed back to when he met the Imagin the second time. 'Contract completed,' he had said, 'I've beaten up the person responsible for putting you in the apartment.' Suddenly, he felt a small hand gently grasp his. He looked up, and saw Hana giving him a comforting look.

"Don't worry," she said, "we won't let that happen. But it is important that you tell us what your wish was. That way we can stop it from being granted, and prevent the Imagin from traveling to the past." James stared at her for a moment, and slowly nodded.

"Well," he began, "he said that he would beat up the people who made me live in an apartment."

"And who would that be?" Hana asked.

"W-well," he continued nervously, "he…he attacked my boss…"

"You mean…the person in the newspaper?" Hana questioned. James nodded.

"B-but he wasn't entirely responsible though! I mean, he was part of the reason, but not entirely." Hana frowned.

"So…wait, was the wish granted?" she asked.

"I'm not sure actually," he answered, "I mean he said that my wish was granted, but I don't really think it was."

"You said that your boss wasn't entirely responsible, correct?" Urataros spoke up suddenly. James nodded nervously in response. "And the Imagin hasn't attacked anyone else yet?" James nodded again. "So then the wish really _hasn't _been granted, right?" Hana nodded, smiling.

"But them, who are the people you truly blame?" the gold one asked, turning to them. James' eyes went down to the table once more.

"Well…" he began, "I-I think… I think I really blame-"

"It doesn't matter," Koutarou cut him off, standing from his seat, "what _does _matter is the fact that the Imagin still _thinks _that he granted his wish. We can use that to our advantage."

"How do we do that?" the gold one asked, turning to him. He smirked, and walked over to Hana's and James' table, leaning on it with his hand.

"We use James here as bait." He said, gesturing to him.

"Eh?!" everyone exclaimed, giving Koutarou a confused look.

"Look, it's simple," he explained, "we'll use James to lure out the Imagin. Then, once they come out to try and open the gate to the past, me n' Teddy can catch them by surprise and attack them."

"Just you and Teddy?!" Hana exclaimed, "but that's dangerous! What if they're too much to handle?!"

"And another thing," the gold one spoke up, "what if we're wrong, and the wish really _was _granted?"

"Kintaros and Hana have a point," Teddy began as he walked up to Koutarou, "it's too risky to be doing this, at least while we're on our own. The best thing to do would be to wait until we have at least some sort of back up." Koutarou sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I don't get what you're all so worried about," he said, returning to his seat with Teddy following closely behind, "it's not like they're gonna be very difficult to defeat."

"We don't know that though," Hana pointed out, "the fact that he was able to split proves that this one will be different." Koutarou groaned.

"Seriously, quit your worrying. We'll be fine," he said reassuringly, "we've handled worse after all."

"Heh, getting overconfident huh?" Momotaros said from his seat. "Why don't you just behave yourself like a good little boy and wait?"

"Cuz I'm not old n' run down like you, oji-san," Koutarou replied slyly.

"Oji-san?!" Momotaros exclaimed, getting up from his seat. "Oji-san?! Oji-san?! …Oji-san?" He tilted his head. "O…ji…san? O-ji-san?" He put a hand to his chin. He growled, and started for Koutarou before Urataros and Kintaros held him back hastily. "DON'T CALL ME THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

"Calm down sempai," Urataros said, holding him back with effort.

"LIKE HELL I WILL!" Momotaros replied angrily. "HE CALLED ME A…a…uh…" He put a hand to his chin again, thinking.

"Old man," Kintaros said simply.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" Momotaros exclaimed, glaring at Kintaros.

"He's telling you what Koutarou called you," Urataros tried to reason.

"No he didn't!" Momotaros replied. "He called me a…uh…O-Oji-san!"

"It's the same thing," said Urataros.

"It is?" Hmmm…" Momotaros put a hand to his chin, looking up thoughtfully. The purple one tapped him on the shoulder, having gotten up from his seat. "What do you want?"

The purple one put a finger to his lip, tilting his head slightly. "Are you stupid or something?"

"…" Momo twitched. "ʷʰʸʸʸʸ…YOUU!" Kintaros and Urataros scrambled for Momotaros as he tried to attack the purple colored dragon as he danced away, giggling. Momo growled as he tried to swipe at him. He soon gave up, simply giving a dismissive wave of his hand, and everyone settled down, returning to their seats,

"Ryuutaros," Urataros said to the purple one, "you shouldn't say things like that," he looked to the side, "even though it's true…"

"Eh?" Momotaros said, getting up from his seat and standing over Urataros, "what did you say you turtle punk?"

"Uh-n-nothing-nothing at all," he replied, putting his hands up. Momo slowly walked away, pointing at him and giving him the "I'm watching you" sign. Hana sighed, and turned her attention back to James.

"Don't worry," she said, "I'm sure you'll be fine. As you've already seen, Koutarou is pretty strong, though it gets to his head sometimes…" James nodded in understanding. "As much as I hate the idea of not sending anyone to help, we really don't have any better options right now. For now, we'll just have to rely of Koutarou's strength."

James looked to Koutarou, who was sitting back in his seat casually, eyes closed and breathing evenly. For a brief moment, it seemed as though he didn't have a care in the world. James turned back, sipping from his cup silently.


End file.
